Fredrick's Journey
by Lord Carledo
Summary: I'd been writing this series as an assignment for school. I figured I get most of the ideas for it from the the FF series. Enjoy.
1. The Beginning

Fredrick's Journey: The Beginning  
  
Book 1  
  
By: Carlyn Stuart (Lord Carledo) Brooks  
  
Ryeen was an odd goblin, for many reasons. He was one of the only   
  
who could speak human in the tribe and he did not like to fight unlike the other goblins. He often felt he didn't belong with them. His father was a mediator who spoke many languages including human with fludity. His mother was a gatherer and ran away from another tribe and Ryeen not long after. His mother's name is Clorron and his father goes by the name Kreg. He could only lift 50 pounds which isn't much for a goblin of his age. He never did find his true calling until one fateful   
  
day...  
  
Ryeen and his two closest friends were out protecting Froog mountain on a foggy spring day. Trau and Pinnagh were busy sharpening their arrows and knives while Ryeen was on top of the mountain keeping look-out. After several hours, the gang had become weary of waiting, not to mention hungry. So Ryeen took the "short straw", which in reality was just some grass they grabbed without looking, so he went out in search of food. It wasn't long before he ran up on a varg and a hrewn fighting. He would wait for them to fight to the death then scare the other away and take back the carcass. A hrewn was a curve-horned, huge, sparrow-like creature and a varg is basically an evil more muscular wolf. Naturally, the varg won and Ryeen ran from his hiding spot screaming a warcry and sure enough the varg fled. For a single varg is cowardly while a whole pack is a true danger to travelers. Ryeen was returning with his scavenge to Trau and Pinnagh when he heard human tongue. Being a farely young goblin he knew only about half of the human language.   
  
"Give me thyo shuval, I'm tired ot digging this darl road! Besaids, we don'd get peid enoogh to dig this darl road." He only understood certain words but it was enough to understand,they were going to make a road over the goblins' sacred Froog mountain! He ran over to Trau and Pinnagh to tell them the news. They seemed disturbed by this news, yet thankful for their overhearing. When the workers came over the hill they ambushed them putting an arrow in one of the workers shoulders and a lopped off thief foot. Suddenly, a very badly pronunciated "Stop!" rang through the air. The weird thing was, it was in goblin. A man stood behind the three workers and two thieves. This man was dressed in ragged robes and his pockets were absolutely stuffed with books Ryeen had only only seen in his father's bookshelf. All different languages, all differently made. Ryeen questioned him in English,  
  
"Do you know Goblin?" His accent was of course just as bad in human as was the man's in goblin. Surprised by Ryeen's intellegence he shot back at him in human.  
  
"And you know human?" At this point Ryeen couldn't remember the human word for agreance so he merely nodded. "Listen," he spoke in goblin again, "Maybe I can make you deal...."  
  
A huge conversation followed here after and lasted long into the night, Ryeen, his friends, and the humans were actually getting along aside from the exchange of punches Trau and Yoshi, a thief, that were given early on. Ryeen learned that the workers were hired by the   
  
kingdom and were making a road to their newest trade city, Kilk. The robed man with all the books turned out to be a human mediator whose name was Jose but liked to be called Jo. The two thieves, Yoshi and Drake, were always with Jo and were dear friends and allies. The kingdomwas looking to improve relations with other races and would pay them dearly to fight with the humans. Ryeen was al for it, his mother had disappeared one day while gathering and his father  
  
was off doing exactly the same thing as these humans wanted him to do. Trau and Pinnaugh's parents died in a battle against the SUA(Southern Undead Armada) and could care less. The quality of everything at the village was sinking anyway as many of the hunters and healershad retired. Being that the generation for work had a decrease, disease and hunger were striking the village leading to the tribe's demise. After being told this, the human said if they joined they would inform the king of this and have him send help. The kingdom was in a time of prosper and the royal treasury reached nearly 1.5 million gold! The treasury back at the tribe was at a mere 1500 gold!  
  
Eventually, the goblins were convinced and helped the workers build a road AROUND Froog Mountain and travelled to the trade city of Kilk. Buildings and guilds covered every concrete covered corner, the city was simply amazing. People were a smiling few of which looked starved or diseased, all of which pointing at him, Trau, and Pinnaugh. They were just as fasinated of seeing goblins in the city as the goblins were of the city. The huts and simple block buildings of the tribe were nothing compared to these large straw, adobe, and concrete buildings of Kilk.  
  
"We'ty here!" Said Yoshi as he stopped in front of a hansom brick building with a flag of a coat of arms on it swaying in the wind. As they stepped inside, Jo confronted Ryeen.  
  
"Listen we're here to hire a knight to join and while we're here in Kilk, we might as well register you with a human-like name as Goblin tongue names may be hard for humans to pronounce. So ask your......... comrades about getting a human name. No insult meant."  
  
"Yes, I will, thank you...." Stuttered Ryeen back in human. Ryeen went over and told Trau and Pinnaugh of these ideas. Both which objected to the idea, they figured it would be polite to their deceased parents if they keep their names even in a human town. Ryeen agreed to their ideas and said that he would only be human named around humans but he would be forever Ryeen. Ryeen went back and told Jo and Jo did not look surprised and then he read off a list of names still available and one inparticular caught his ear. "Wait," He said in goblin, "I want that name, in the human world, I am Fredrick..." 


	2. The Ambush

Fredrick's Journey: The Ambush  
  
Book 2  
  
By: Carlyn (Lord Carledo) Brooks  
  
Jose started filling out several sheets of paper and Ryeen to do   
  
various things such as sign here and tell his date of birth. After   
  
several minutes of filling out the papers, Jose gave Ryeen a slip of   
  
paper,  
  
"This is a name tag, where it in human towns so they can identify   
  
you and not become afraid at the fact there's a goblin walking   
  
through." and with that, Jose handed him a piece of parchment with a   
  
sticky blank side and a side with human writing on it saying:  
  
NAME: RYEEN (FREDRICK) GRONGI  
  
SPECIES: GOBLIN  
  
D/O/B: 11/14/990  
  
SPONSOR: JOSE GIANGO  
  
So as Jose, Yoshi, and Drake were interviewing possible   
  
mercenaries, Ryeen pressed his new sticky-patch onto his tunic and   
  
surveyed it. Though Jose's penmanship was nothing special it looked   
  
rather nice with gold trim, a red background, and blue ink writing.   
  
Trau and Pinnaugh weren't entirely thrilled with it however,  
  
"Don't become obsessed with these humans, not all of them are   
  
worth talking or even associating yourself with." Trau in an irritated   
  
whisper.  
  
"Jo is well to be trusted though," replied Ryeen, "He wishes   
  
nothing less than peace between our two kinds."  
  
"Ha!" laughed Pinnaugh in return, "That's what the Roongh tribe   
  
said before The War of the Fields!" Pinnaugh of course had a very good   
  
point, The War of the Fields was a long series of battles between the   
  
Roongh and the unsuspecting Uyi tribes. The Roongh and Uyi started   
  
trade with the Roongh naturally getting the best out of all most all   
  
the trade deals. After the Roongh had traded the Uyi out of their main   
  
goods (potatoes, grain, and watermelon) the Roongh sent out an attack   
  
force to conquer the Uyi. After 12 years of battles the Uyi finally   
  
beat the Roongh back with the help of their fields which provided   
  
shelter, ammunition (watermelons hurt) , and a constant supply of food.   
  
So as long as the Uyi hid in their fields they were safe. The Uyi had   
  
sent out a war band and ruthlessly beheaded the Roongh chieftain,   
  
Kilarri. Their enthusiasm destroyed, the Roongh withdrew and the two   
  
tribes have lived in mutual hatred yet respect ever since the war ended   
  
in 948.   
  
After many more discussions on the subject of goblin loyalty and   
  
The War of the Fields, Jose finally walked over to Ryeen with a fairly   
  
young, dark skinned man beside him.   
  
"This, Fredrick, is Damien. He will helping us on our next   
  
assignment to the small port town of Avalice where we will be   
  
delivering this payment to one of the king's nobles. It's going to be a   
  
long walk though..." after this Jose paused and thought. Then, as if   
  
smacked by a wet hand, he jumped back to speech, "Oh, uh, Damien meet   
  
Fredrick or Ryeen, and Fredrick meet Damien. I'll be off checking the   
  
supplies, have fun and Fredrick, don't wander too much around town.   
  
Meet me back by the Inn at sunset." With those finalizing words, Jose   
  
left for the supplies packs and stashes.  
  
"Uh...Hi..." said Damien unsure of what it would be like to talk   
  
to a goblin. Though relatively tall and somewhat muscular, he didn't   
  
look too sure of himself.  
  
"Hello, Damien," said Ryeen in the best English he could muster,   
  
it appeared to be good enough as Damien's jaw dropped at the fact that   
  
this goblin speaks better English than he does. Telling facial   
  
expressions and body language was a strong point most goblins have that   
  
not many people are aware of.  
  
Fredrick and Damien spoke for several more minutes of forced   
  
conversation, which eventually became more eased and fluent. Fredrick   
  
had discovered from nearly an hour and a half of talk that Damien was a   
  
new recruit from the North Traise(a group of islands in the far north)   
  
looking to make a living off of mercenary work.  
  
Now that Damien was off attending to his own matters, it was time   
  
to explore the human city. Fredrick saw many things he had only heard   
  
stories of when he was a child. Such as, huge mechanical clocks that   
  
chimed every half hour, rows and rows of vendors and salespeople's   
  
stalls, and the largest library he had ever seen. Sure, he got a lot of   
  
weird looks when entered the library but this was going to be very   
  
interesting.   
  
He didn't realize how late it was until he finished chapter one   
  
of a book with the title of: THE BEGINNER'S GUIDE TO WIND MAGIC. He   
  
hurriedly shoved the book back in the shelf and sprinted from the   
  
library with even more humans staring at him than before. He slid to a   
  
stop behind Jose who jumped but looked happy to see him all the same.  
  
"Told you not to get lost," Jose said in an almost sing-song   
  
voice, "No matter, off we go. Yoshi, would you signal everyone   
  
aboard?" Yoshi nodded, climbed on the cart, and whistled one of the   
  
highest whistles Fredrick had ever heard. It worked though as, Drake   
  
and Damien came running from the local pub and jumped aboard the wagon.   
  
Trau and Pinnaugh hadn't ventured far so they merely took their time in   
  
climbing aboard. After roughly only about five minutes of securing   
  
everything they took off, back to the rocky forests opposite Froog   
  
Mountain.  
  
They traveled down a worn path for awhile until all three goblins   
  
passed out. There sleep did not last however as Fredrick was awoken by   
  
Pinnaugh shaking him roughly. It looked as though the sun had just set   
  
and the air was a misty cool.   
  
"Ryeen, you have to get up! I smell gurries!" Ryeen sat straight   
  
up and grabbed for his club this wasn't something you wanted to wake up   
  
to. A gurry is humanoid-type, agile, skinny, monkey-looking, yet still   
  
cunning and ferosious creature. The gurries ang goblins had been utter   
  
worst enemies since what seemed liked the beginning of time.   
  
Naturally, Ryeen rushed to the front with Jose, Yoshi, Drake, and   
  
Damien to tell them in English which would be much easier to understand   
  
then Trau trying to sign it to them. Everyone drew their weapons when   
  
Fredrick had told them the news, yet Damien didn't look too sure. Jose   
  
started loading what looked like Ryeen's father had told him about, a   
  
rifle. Yoshi, Drake, and Damien merely had swords but Damien's looked   
  
rather old but it was encrusted with atleast five jewels.   
  
As Pinnaugh had predicted, three starved-looking gurries jumped   
  
from a ledge above them and landed point-blank in front of them. The   
  
mules jumped back surprised and Damien, who wasn't ready, fell off the   
  
cart and landed flat on his back on the ground. One of the gurries   
  
jumped over him ready to bite his throat out, however as unsuspecting   
  
of this Damien was, he had enough wits to stab his sword straight   
  
through the ravenous beast which shrieking, went limp. Trau took this   
  
opportuninty to smash the second gurry, who was busy watching his   
  
comrade, hard over the head with his club. Drake caught on and sprinted   
  
over to help only to trip and stab his sword directly through the   
  
already disoriented gurry. The third gurry now outraged by his hunger   
  
and comrades demise, charged over and positively hurled Trau and Yoshi   
  
against a tree. He then ran over to make the finishing moves on them   
  
when Ryeen heard himself yelling an incantation from the book from the   
  
library which in turn led to the third and final gurry being flung into   
  
the cliff's rock wall. As the final gurry still bursting with   
  
adrenaline lifted his head from the ground for another assault a   
  
thunderous bang rang throughout the battle scene. A explosion of blood   
  
flew out of the back of the gurry's head as a bullet went straight   
  
through the creature's head.   
  
Drake loaded the gurry carcasses into the back of the wagon, sure   
  
they'd stink the place up, but the money they'd receive for the furs   
  
and meat would be worth it. Meanwhile, everyone else tended to Trau and   
  
Yoshi. Trau had a dislocated shoulder, while Yoshi merely suffered a   
  
miserable migraine.   
  
"You know, I think I like the power of having control of wind.   
  
I'm going to look into learning some more," said Ryeen remembering how   
  
forcefully the gurry smacked the rockface.  
  
"Suit yourself, I just want a nice, big axe!" said Pinnaugh in his   
  
usual attitude of Might over mind. The sad part was he was usaully   
  
right when choosing between the two. As a matter of fact Pinnaugh had   
  
been secretly saving enough gold to buy a human-made two-sided battle   
  
axe. Naturally, Pinnaugh would be excited once he got his share of gold   
  
from the gurries, he would have enough to get his very own axe at the   
  
next town. Pinnaugh had a hard time waiting until he reached the port   
  
town of Avalice. 


	3. Avalice

Fredrick's Journey: Avalice  
  
Book 3  
  
By: Carlyn (Lord Carledo) Stuart Brooks  
  
Ryeen awoke late that morning the same cool, misty feeling   
  
hanging over the air. He clumsily made his way up to the front of the   
  
cart where Jose sat alone steering the mules down the hill into the   
  
port-town of Avalice. It was far less impressive than the last town   
  
they had visited. However, Ryeen did notice all the necessities of a   
  
small human town. It had several farms, a dock (being it was a port-  
  
town), blacksmith, and a town square of park. Jose sleepily turned to   
  
him and mumbled, sloppily in goblin.  
  
"Go tell se udder werr here...and dat I need a break, pleez   
  
Fredrick!" Fredrick could see why he'd beg for a break, he looked as   
  
though he had been steering the mules all night. Fredrick would   
  
volunteer to take over, but he'd never even held reins before. So, he   
  
simply nodded and headed back into the covered section. He gently shook   
  
Yoshi and when he opened his eyes he whispered,  
  
"We're here," in rough ,yet legible, english. Yoshi's eyes opened  
  
wide and he jumped up and shook Drake thoroughly.  
  
"Hey! Hey! We're here! Whoa!" This wasn't exactly how Fredrick   
  
wanted to wake everyone, however, it sure worked. He supposed that four   
  
days on a wagon would do that. Fredrick made no attempts to stop   
  
Yoshi's show of loud dancing and singing as it was entertaining and   
  
waking everyone up. Trau and Pinnaugh looked disturbed as they didn't   
  
understand that he was saying that they had arrived at Avalice.   
  
Fredrick explained this to them which made them much happier, they were   
  
afraid he'd gone mad. As Yoshi finished his morning act with a dramatic  
  
"and we're here at Aaavaaaaliiiiiice!", everyone clapped in a light-  
  
hearted manner. Afterwards, everyone preceded to trudge to the front of  
  
the wagon to see the town. Drake made sarcastic clapping, "oh"'s, and   
  
"ah"'s at the site of the meager town.   
  
As they preceded to the edge of the town, they noticed what   
  
looked like a military rally in the town's square. Sure enough, the   
  
noble was making a speech to the rag-tag troops of Avalice. Jose,   
  
Yoshi, Drake, and Damien started quietly talking about something,   
  
probably political matters, Fredrick figured. After the rally, Yoshi   
  
walked forward and delivered a leather pouch and an envelope.   
  
"Well," Jose translated Yoshi's words, "Now that we're out of   
  
work, I'll send a letter to the chancellor to tell him that we're open   
  
to work and we'll remain here in Avalice until more work arrives. Until   
  
then, we're free to do what we want." Yoshi started to walk towards the   
  
pub then turned around once more and continued, "Also, I'll take those   
  
gurry carcasses to the butcher and carpenter and I'll bring everyone   
  
their share. Finally, I'll book us rooms at the 'Salty Snapper Inn',   
  
our curfew is at 10:00 p.m., don't forget it." Speech done, Yoshi went   
  
to pick up the gurrey carcasses muttering something along the lines of,  
  
"Sometimes I wish I weren't squad captain..."  
  
"Well, I'm going to the library....if they have one. Wanna come?"  
  
Fredrick asked Trau and Pinnaugh.  
  
"Why, do books taste good? We can't read remember!? Those books   
  
sure didn't make you any more sense smart!" Pinnaugh said this all in a  
  
friendly mocking tone. Trau sniggered as Pinnaugh ranted then said   
  
himself,  
  
"Yeah, besides I've always wondered what 'mead' tasted like..."  
  
So Trau and Pinnaugh followed Drake, Jose, and Damien into the pub. So   
  
Fredrick trudged down the main road looking for the library, however he   
  
couldn't find one for the life of him. So he gently tapped a girl on   
  
the shoulder who was hanging up undergarments on a close-line.   
  
"Excuse me," he uttered in English, "Where is the library,   
  
please." The young girl turned around slowly starting by saying,  
  
"It's right down that road there and...." She caught site of   
  
Fredrick and her jaw dropped. There was an eery silence, which Fredrick   
  
tried to end by smiling and pointing at his stick-on nametag. She   
  
silently stooped over to read it. She then, much calmer than before,   
  
shook his hand and said, "Pleasure to meet you, Fredrick. Anyhow, it's   
  
just down that road on the right. It's not that impressive, its just an   
  
old looking house with a sign that looks like an open book. But....why   
  
are you here?" Fredrick told her and in long run they got into a   
  
conversation about reading. The little girl, clarissa, didn't really   
  
like to read, but agreed it was useful to read. After Yoshi had found   
  
him and given him his share of gold, Fredrick realized how long he had   
  
been talking, gave the young lady a gold piece for her time, and went   
  
on his way.   
  
On his way, a man jumped out of a box yelling like a madman,   
  
"Jack wants mooney!" and he lunged at Fredrick's money pouch. Fredrick  
  
dodged the man's hands toward the money sash and placed his right hand   
  
on the man's forehand and shouted "Siasance!" As what happened to the   
  
gurrey, the man flew backwards, smashed the back of his head on the   
  
wall and fell unconscious back into his box. Fredrick quietly left the   
  
scene hoping no one had seen him use magic to knock a homeless man off   
  
of his feet and into a wall.  
  
On his way to the library, he saw many things he hadn't seen as   
  
he entered the town. Such as an abandoned house with a field that   
  
had a scarecrow that was nothing more than a torn coat on a post. Then  
  
there was another pub which had many smashed windows and a drunk   
  
hanging off of the horse trough. Right next to the library was a shack  
  
that looked as though it housed atleast seven people with maybe one   
  
source of revenue.  
  
As he entered, he noted how much nicer this place looked than the   
  
rest of the general area. "Hello, is anyone here?" Roughly a minute   
  
after he said this, a grizzled old man appeared at one of the doors. He   
  
grabbed a staff and held it up like a lance.  
  
"What's yer bussiness....goblin?" he slightly lowered the staff,   
  
surely no goblin would be stupid enough to just walk right in? Plus, he   
  
spoke clear english.  
  
"Is this a library, can I read please?" uttered Fredrick   
  
uncertainly.  
  
"O' course ye can. Wha' do ye wan' to read abou'?" asked the old   
  
man, who now apparently saw no threat in this curious young goblin.  
  
"Do you have any books on wind magic?" said Fredrick satarting to   
  
warm up to the man.  
  
"Wind magic, wind magic...." he walked over to another room, as   
  
he got to the door, he summoned Fredrick to follow. They had entered a   
  
fairly good-sized room filled with shelves and shelves of books and a   
  
table in the middle. He walked over and gently pulled a large, old-  
  
looking book from a shelf. "This is the only wind magic book I 'ave,   
  
please seat yerself."  
  
They sat down to read and converse for more several hours until   
  
Fredrick realized he could see a full moon through the only window in   
  
the room. When Fredrick asked for the time he discovered it was roughly   
  
8:30. He thanked and said his good-byes to the old man(Christopher   
  
Wilkins) and made his way back to the inn. As he was walking on the way   
  
to the inn, he saw Pinnaugh shaking a homeless man off of Pinnaugh's   
  
brand new battle-ax. Several more shadowy figures came to help the   
  
first. This was a great opportunity to try out those two new spells!  
  
He ran over to Pinnaugh's side and shouted to the night "Armosculus!"  
  
and a strange sensation flew over him it was as if the air in the   
  
immediate area around his body had gone haevy or thick. The only open   
  
spot was is face which had normal everyday air in front of it.  
  
As Fredrick had just kicked the git off of the end of Pinnaugh's   
  
ax one came up behind him with a crude dagger and swung violently.   
  
Fredrick side-stepped the man's drunken attack and yelled "Seaths   
  
Osuis" The man simply coughed as he lunged toward him again but was hit   
  
hard in the nose by the butt of Pinnaugh's ax which made Pinnaugh laugh   
  
happily and ran after the rest of the shadowy figures. "Well," Fredrick  
  
thought, "that sure was an effective 'instant death' spell." It was   
  
supposed to instantly kill the man, but it barely tickled the man's   
  
lungs.   
  
"Well, I like this neiborhood!" panted Pinnaugh coming back over   
  
to Fredrick. They both walked back to the Inn talking about their days.  
  
Avalice would be...interesting. 


	4. The Gig

Fredrick's Journey: The Gig  
  
Book 4  
  
By: Carlyn (Lord Carledo) Stuart Brooks  
  
Fredrick woke up late the next morning to the sound of brunchers  
  
and the smell of omelets and fish... a very strange fish dish. He   
  
plucked a spider off of his sheets as he got up. The only two still   
  
sleeping were Pinnaugh, who was was still holding his axe in his sleep,   
  
and Jose, who had fallen out of his bed and hadn't succeded in getting   
  
back into his bed as his head was resting on the side of the mattress.   
  
As he opened the door and started walking down the second story   
  
hallway, the smell of brunch was becoming stronger. Fredrick's stomach   
  
began to hiss strongly. Yes, hiss. You see, unlike humans, when goblins   
  
become hungry, their stomachs hiss instead of growling.  
  
As he opened the door into the cafe/bar, the smell completely   
  
overwhelmed him and his fingers groped over his belt for his money   
  
pouch to order breakfast. He asked the stunned waitress what the   
  
bizarre fish smell was. She said the only thing out of the ordinary on   
  
the menu was the breakfast fish burrito. Fredrick thought for a second   
  
and came to the conclusion that to understand another race, you have to   
  
understand everything from the language, to the food. So he ordered the   
  
burrito and seated himself. It was only after he got his plate that he   
  
realized that Drake and Yoshi were across the room playing cards.   
  
Fredrick didn't quite understand the concept of cards. Trau was   
  
standing behind them watching intently.  
  
Fredrick left this sight and looked down at his breakfast. It was   
  
wrapped in a grain and flour wrap with bits of cheese, fish, lettuce,   
  
and olives pretruding out of each end. With stares from curious   
  
onlookers, Fredrick unsurely took a bite. He chewed it intently...After   
  
the third bite, he was thoroughly amazed. Though as strange as it   
  
tasted, the amount of different ingredients contributed to the varied   
  
taste. The cheese was enough to weaken the strong bitter taste of the   
  
local fish while the olives complimented the spices and grilled taste   
  
immensly. He quickly gobbled (goblin, gobbled; yuck yuck yuck, humor)   
  
down the rest of his food to the surprise of the curious people   
  
watching. Realizing this, Fredrick smiled and announced with glee,  
  
"Very good!" A few people smiled and laughed while others merely shook   
  
their heads. The cook looked thoroughly happy with himself from behind   
  
the counter. He had been on his break and was easily as interested as   
  
everyone else that had been watching.  
  
Yoshi, Drake, and Trau walked over to his table and seated   
  
themselves. The waitress walked back over.  
  
"May I get you boys something?" She said this a warmer much more   
  
appeasing voice than she did with Fredrick.  
  
"Sure, by the way, do you work the night-shift?" Drake smirked   
  
and winked. Fredrick didn't quite understand why...  
  
"I get that a lot and yeah, on the weekends," replied the   
  
waitress in a silky voice.  
  
"Well, how long we stayin' boss?" asked Drake intently.  
  
"Long enough!" said Yoshi in an upbeat mood. Trau looked on   
  
curiously, scratched his head, and looked to Fredrick who merely   
  
shrugged. Even if he could understand Humans, he didn't understand   
  
Humans in general. Seeing the bewildered look on Fredrick's face after   
  
the waitress had taken their orders and left, Yoshi explained what the   
  
conversation was about and explained the concept of it. By the end,   
  
Fredrick's eyes were wide and Drake was pounding his fist on the table   
  
laughing at the look on Fredrick's face. Fredrick turned to face Trau   
  
and explained the conversation. Trau too, was laughing histerically by   
  
the end and kept repeating such things as, "Are you serious?" and   
  
"You're kidding!".   
  
Pinnaugh had come down from the room saying that Jose was still   
  
snoring incredibly loud and that his head to the floor by now. Fredrick   
  
relayed this on to Yoshi and Drake who laughed heartily.  
  
"Yeah," Yoshi said, "He usually does sleep late, even if he   
  
hadn't driven mules through the night the day before." Fredrick   
  
chuckled, left a tip(Jose explained the concept last night at dinner),   
  
and left for the library. He ran down to the library not wanting to   
  
cause people to stare. A goblin down a busy street made them wonder   
  
even harder however. After a ten minute jog, Fredrick reached the   
  
library.  
  
Fredrick opened the door and called in,  
  
"Hello, it is Fredrick!" The old man that was the bookkeeper,   
  
Christopher Wilkins, showed up from the back room.  
  
"Oh hello there Freddy, you're friend Damien's already 'ere. So,   
  
anything you're looking for today?"  
  
"No," replied Fredrick in a warm voice, he had become quite   
  
friendly with this old man, "Same thing," So, Fredrick walked back to   
  
the area where the wind magic book had been, found it, and yanked it   
  
out of the dusty shelves causing a dust chain reaction which made him   
  
go into a horrible sneezing fit. After he had gotten over this, he sat   
  
at the table with a friendly "hello" to Damien who was reading "A   
  
Beginner's Guide to Paladin Techniques".  
  
They continued reading for at least another two hours before they   
  
heard Yoshi's whistle. This was clearly a unique tecnique that he Yoshi   
  
must have had training in. How a human could produce such a powerful,   
  
shrill whistle was beyond him. Damien and Fredrick kindly thanked   
  
Christopher, placed their books back on the shelf, and started at a jog   
  
back to the Salty Snapper Inn. When they got their, the rest of the   
  
party were sitting at the bar while Yoshi waited for everyone to sit   
  
down. He was holding a large piece of paper with writing and several   
  
signatures. To add to the situation, Drake was laughing extremely hard   
  
with a glass of mead in one hand and the edge of the counter in the   
  
other.  
  
"Alright," Announced Yoshi who was trying to speak as if this was   
  
imporatant, but he couldn't hold back his smile. "I've signed our   
  
entourage up to be the entertainment for tonight's show. I myself can   
  
play several instruments, but you guys will have to think up something   
  
for it." Eventually, after several hours and several drinks, they   
  
decided that Drake would be playing the mandolin, Damien would be   
  
playing the piano, Yoshi would be playing harp, and Jose would be   
  
singing in Elvish. Fredrick was eventually convinced to play flute as   
  
it was the only instrument he knew how to play(Besides the larxac, a   
  
form of Goblin drum made from gurrey hide and harpy bone). Trau and   
  
Pinnaugh were convinced(after a few drinks) to do dancing in purple   
  
nightgowns inbetween the tables. Sure, this would make it hard to take   
  
them seriously, but it would make things entertaining.  
  
It was a while 'til the performance. In that time ,however,   
  
Fredrick lost about half his money playing cards and was actually happy   
  
to have this job tonight. He did not know ,however, how this was going   
  
to turn out. Maybe it would have been better if it never happened at   
  
all...It would pay off in the end however. To be continued... 


	5. Nightgowns and Gunpowder

Fredrick's Journey: Nightgowns and Gunpowder  
  
Book 5  
  
By: Carlyn (Lord Carledo) Stuart Brooks  
  
At ten minutes until they went on, everybody was getting ready to   
  
"perform". Trau and Pinnaugh were fitting into the nightgowns and   
  
laughing at each other with a danger of falling over and and their ribs   
  
caving in. Fredrick was looking over the music and playing aloud the   
  
harder parts. Jose was working on his voice which happened to be rather   
  
hoarse due to stage fright. Drake was having a good ol' time practicing   
  
his mandolin and doing some faster paced songs. Yoshi and and Damien   
  
were talking about how much they might make out of this and were   
  
desperately trying to sober up.  
  
After the ten minutes had passed, they heard themselves being   
  
announced and they walked up on stage with the exceptions of Trau and   
  
Pinnaugh who were going to come out mid-song and start their graceful   
  
routine.  
  
"Good evening everybody, I hope you're enjoying the great service   
  
here at the Salty Snapper Inn," started Yoshi, "Tonight we will be   
  
performing some of the more festive Elvish songs, called.... Hey, Jose   
  
how do you say it again?" Jose said something to the crowd, but   
  
Fredrick didn't catch it. "Right, that. Anyway, enjoy your evening and   
  
have a good time!"  
  
They struck up a faster and festive music with a nice melody.   
  
About a minute-thrity into the song, Trau and Pinnaugh came out from   
  
behind the bar dancing in ways you never think nor want to see a goblin   
  
dance in. Laughter followed and some of the people were putting gold   
  
into the pouches at Trau and Pinnaugh's belts. This was explained to   
  
them before the show, but it still shocked Trau a little bit the first   
  
time someone put two copper pieces in his pouch.  
  
The first song ended to much applause and everyone took their   
  
bows light-heartedly and Trau and Pinnaugh had huge grins on their   
  
faces which made everyone point and laugh even harder. They started the   
  
second song in good spirits. This slower ,yet still spirited song, went   
  
pretty well even though Fredrick missed a few notes. In the third song,   
  
things started going as Trau tripped over a chair leg but got up   
  
quickly with a grin. Near the end, one of Drake's strings broke.  
  
They asked for a moment to prepare for the final song. It didn't   
  
take long to get ready, maybe five minutes. Yoshi stood up, "Sorry for   
  
the wait, but here's the final song of the night. And remember, be sure   
  
to tip your waitress!" He winked and sat back down behind his harp and   
  
struck up the final tune.Things went pretty well with the exception of   
  
the turning factor. Into the second chorus a huge boulder came flying   
  
through the wall and landed on a table rolling over chairs, tables, and   
  
bodies directly into the bar.  
  
Screams replaced the laughter and music as more boulders could be   
  
heard hitting other areas of the town. A soldier jumped up from a table   
  
and grabbed his sword, poised at the hole in the wall. Sure enough,   
  
rag-tag soldiers started pouring in through the hole in the wall and   
  
arrows started hitting the roof and going throgh the hole in the wall.   
  
Pinnaugh jumped to the side of the stage and swung his axe around   
  
broad-siding three soldiers, knocking them into the wall with a strong   
  
force.  
  
The soldier at the table started yelling, "They're here! They're   
  
here!!!" He was silenced soon after as an arrow caught him in the   
  
throat and he fell to the ground. Fredrick used one of his wind   
  
spells to through a wrecked table through the hole taking with it   
  
several soldiers. Gunshots were heard as Jose had pulled out his gun   
  
and was popping off everyone he could fire at. Damien was charging   
  
through them causing a horrible ruckus and shocking several charging   
  
enemies. Yoshi and Drake were standing on the bar counter firing off   
  
arrows at a distance. Trau was nowhere to be seen.  
  
Yoshi and Drake let a different tone of whistle and a reply from   
  
somewhere else could be heard over the yells of fighting. Damien began   
  
to sprint/limp out of the Inn as he was bleeding profusely and his   
  
sword was no where to be seen. Trau cam running out of the cellar with   
  
his eyes huge and no regard for anything in his way of the exit.  
  
"GET OUT!" Jose yelled in English as Trau yelled the same thing   
  
in Goblin. Everyone sprinted out and the reason why was apparent as   
  
they had just gotten out of the door. Explosions and fire were   
  
everywhere as the Inn started to collapse. They were knocked on their   
  
faces and the troops inside were crushed. They got to their feet with   
  
the sight of the Inn burning in rubble and soldiers fighting each other   
  
around the square they were standing in. The smell of blood was thick   
  
in the air. It was more than Pinnaugh could handle as he charged back   
  
into battle swinging his axe furiously.  
  
You see, goblins go viscious at the smell of blood and charge   
  
into battle quite willingly. Fredrick cast his wind armor spell as Trau   
  
grabbed a jagged metal pole from the wreckage and ,they too, charged   
  
into the thick of the gore. Jose, Drake, and Yoshi stood back to back   
  
to back firing like mad to protect themselves.  
  
After about another half of an hour, the attacking army   
  
retreated. It wasn't worth the city yet, it was still too protected.   
  
Trau was found unconscious on the battlefield with an arrow in his   
  
right shoulder and dagger in his back. Pinnaugh was gashed across the   
  
chest by a long sword but he really didn't seem to care and Fredrick   
  
was almost completely untouched. Yoshi, Drake, and Jose were just fine   
  
as no one could get close enough to attack them as Yoshi and Drake were   
  
firing arrows like mad and Jose got his fair amount of kills with his   
  
gun, too. Damien, meanwhile was found hiding under an overturned   
  
trading cart with a huge pudle of blood underneath where his arm was   
  
resting.  
  
After regrouping (and regaining consciousness in Trau's case),   
  
the entourage set up camp just outside the city. Here, Jose explained   
  
what happened at the Inn.  
  
"Well, Trau was standing there without a weapon was getting ready   
  
to fight bare-handed when I thought of something. Obviously, we were   
  
fighting on top of a huge wine cellar. I gave Trau a bag of gunpowder   
  
and a fireball scroll. I then told him to cast fireball on a trail of   
  
gunpowder leading to the biggest container of wine, ale, mead,   
  
whatever. He looked confused, but I guess he figured it out!" as he   
  
said this, he gestured towards the now smoldering ruins of the Inn.  
  
After a relieving round of drinks, Yoshi turned to his entourage,  
  
"Well, I think the best thing to do now is to sign as mercenaries to   
  
the army. They need the help and we need something to do, not to   
  
mention the gold. Well, any objections?" Everyone generally nodded and   
  
Jose translated this to Trau and Pinnaugh who looked delighted. "Well   
  
then," Yoshi continued, "I'll offer our srvices in the morning. Well,   
  
get some sleep, we have injuries and hangovers to get over...Jose why   
  
don't you put out the," Yoshi was going to say "fire", but Drake was   
  
laughing so hard he vomitted on the fire putting it out. "Uh...Good   
  
night?" Yoshi then climbed into mass of blankets to go sleep.  
  
"If anyone feels...rough. Take one of these and suck on it, it   
  
should help." said Jose pulling out peppermints, "Anybody want one?"  
  
Everyone's hand immediately went up as Drake wiped his mouth...It was   
  
going to be a long night... 


	6. The Golden Grunts

Fredrick's Journey: The Golden Grunts  
  
Book 6  
  
By: Carlyn (Lord Carledo) Stuart Brooks  
  
Fredrick awoke in the morning with the strong smell of of blood   
  
and vomit coursing over his nostrils. Drake was behind a tree heaving   
  
his innards out while Jose, Damien, and Yoshi were whispering about   
  
something. Trau and Pinnaugh were still sound asleep in the nightgowns   
  
that were now stained and torn. Jose took notice of Fredrick getting to   
  
his feet and staring at Drake concernedly, "No, no, no, I think it's   
  
best not to bother him. He never did keep down his liquor well," Jose   
  
said as he steered Fredrick from the groaning mess that was Drake,   
  
"Anyway, here's your share of the money we made last night. Have   
  
anything in mind that you want to buy?"  
  
"No, not really, thanks though," Fredrick replied, still worried   
  
about Drake, "Do you know if the town's library made it?"  
  
"Avalice has a library?" Yoshi replied looking surprised.  
  
"Nevermind," replied Fredrick smiling, "I'll go find out myself."  
  
As he left the camp area, Fredrick noticed Pinnaugh grunt in his sleep   
  
and pull his axe closer to him.  
  
Fredrick noted the terrible amounts of damage done to the town as   
  
walked down the streets: burning buildings, overturned trade carts,   
  
smoldering bodies, crying family members at unmarked graves. It was   
  
truly an onslaught that Avalice would not forget for ages. But, as he   
  
walked further towards the library, the destruction lessened. More and   
  
more structures were still standing. Finally, he arrived at the library   
  
relieved to see it still standing. This was quite lucky as noticed half   
  
of a cow launched from a catapult lodged into the building next to it.  
  
Ignoring the wretched stench coming from the projectile cow, he entered   
  
the library to find that not even the dust had moved.  
  
"Mornin' to yeh Fredrick, glad to see ya made it!" Christopher   
  
the old library keeper, looked up from a novel he was reading, "Quite a  
  
night, huh?" Fredrick and the old man conversed about the attack that   
  
happened last night. It turns out that the rumble from the explosion of   
  
The Salty Snapper Inn caused an older bookcase in the back to collapse.  
  
Both of them found this highly amusing and continued conversing for   
  
about another half of an hour. There conversation was ended as a little   
  
girl entered the library. She looked familiar, but Fredrick just   
  
couldn't place it.  
  
"Hi," she said uncertainly as both Fredrick and Christopher were   
  
staring at her with awe, hardly anyone new comes in here, "Can I read a   
  
book about magic in music....man, what's it called..."  
  
"Do you mean bardic spells?" Christopher said, still a little   
  
surprised.  
  
"Wait a second, I know you," Fredrick said looking at the girl   
  
who was now staring at Fredrick, "Hi Clarissa," Fredrick turned to   
  
Christopher, "She was the one who showed me to this library."  
  
"Ah yes, she does look a wee bit familiar now that ya mention   
  
it. Is there any reason you want to learn bardic? Some bards have bad   
  
reputations," Christopher cocked his head in a friendly glance as he   
  
finished.  
  
"Well, my...my...my dad disappered last night... I want to help   
  
find him... But the only way I could think to fight was.... Well, I can   
  
sing real good..." Clarissa was on the brink of tears as she finished.  
  
"Oh, I see..." Christopher looked dark as he said this, "Well   
  
then, yes, I do have some bardic spellbooks," he gave a friendly smile  
  
as showed to the right bookshelf. He came back about five minutes later  
  
(Fredrick had picked out his wind magic book and had begun reading) and   
  
sat down next to Fredrick, "Such a shame to see the youngin's loose   
  
there parents to war. I lost my father when I was fourteen, he was a   
  
navy commander and his ship sank just outside this port."  
  
"I'm sorry to hear," before Fredrick could finish, Yoshi's   
  
whistle rang out, "Sorry, I have to go. Bye," Fredrick waved one more   
  
time before he jogged out towards camp. Along the way, he stepped in a   
  
cat that had been killed by a stray arrow. He tried to forget the   
  
horrible smell and squelching, crunch noise that was made as he stepped   
  
on it's rib cage. He got to camp just in time as he just started to   
  
think about how the owner must feel.  
  
"Hey Fredrick....you alright?" Yoshi was standing by the relit   
  
fire.  
  
"Yeah....it's nothing" Fredrick shook off the horrible image.  
  
"OK, everybody's here. Anyway, we are now officially The Golden   
  
Grunts of the Avalice military. Don't ask about the name, I thought it   
  
sounded catchy for a group of mercenaries no one's heard of.   
  
Also....Fredrick, are you sure you're OK?" Yoshi stopped midsentence as   
  
his eyes ran across Fredrick who was staring at the ground.  
  
"Yeah, keep going," Fredrick looked up and faked a weak smile.   
  
All the events had overrun his mind and he was having a hard time   
  
thinking about what was going on in the present. Trau and Pinnaugh were   
  
staring at curiously, goblins don't get depressed!  
  
"Alright.... As I was saying, we have our first briefing tomorrow  
  
in the early morning. Everybody get to bed early and Drake, take it   
  
easy, man..." Yoshi walked out of the campsite towards the town.  
  
"What's wrong with you?!" asked Pinnaugh walking over to   
  
Fredrick, "I've never seen anybody act like this," So, Fredrick   
  
explained about everything that had happened to him during the day.  
  
This took about twenty minutes and there was a brief silence afterwards   
  
which Pinnaugh ended by chuckling and taunting Fredrick, "Wuss! Goblins   
  
are meant to be killers and not think about what's happening to the   
  
enemy. That's what war's about! You've been around these humans too   
  
long!"  
  
"Maybe..." Fredrick said quietly. Trau and Pinnaugh headed into   
  
town while Fredrick spent the rest of the night staring into the fire   
  
and thinking.  
  
Meanwhile....  
  
"Tamaran tuck, ulacees torene....No, I think tornen...hm..."   
  
Clarissa was reading the bardic songbook to herself. She was trying to  
  
sing an old folksong that gradually healed any allies, "Mr. Wilkins!   
  
How do you feel?" Christopher stared at her questioningly,  
  
"A littl' stiff, the battle kept me tossing and turning, why?"  
  
"Can I try something?" Clarissa asked. The old man nodded and   
  
smiled gently as Clarissa began to sing the old folksong. After about a   
  
minute, a crack could be heard from Mr. Wilkins back. Clarissa stopped   
  
suddenly, looking frightened as she thought she'd hurt him.  
  
"Ah, perfect! I'd had a knot there for days! Thank you so much   
  
Clarissa! Would you like to check that book out?"  
  
"Yes please," said Clarissa as Mr. Wilkins pulled out a pen with  
  
which Clarissa scribbled down her name on the card in the back of the   
  
book handed it to the old man, "Thank you!" she called back as she ran   
  
out. Christopher Wilkins sat down in a chair and continued reading his   
  
novel with a smirk on his face.  
  
Twenty minutes later....  
  
"Hello," Fredrick turned his head away from the fire to see   
  
Clarissa walking up the hill towards their camp. "Hi, Fredrick! Is your   
  
commander here?"  
  
"........." Fredrick silently stared at her wondering what on   
  
earth she was doing here. He did point however towards Yoshi's sleeping   
  
bag where Yoshi was now snoring. She walked over and woke up Yoshi who   
  
awoke more violently than intended and knocked Clarissa over backwards.  
  
"Sorry...Uh, Yoshi, leader of The Golden Grunts, how can I help   
  
you little missy?" Yoshi sat-up in his sleeping bag.  
  
"Well, I'm learning how to be bard and I was wondering if I could   
  
help, if I could join you guys..." Clarissa spoke uncertainly. Fredrick   
  
stood up alarmed.  
  
"WHAT!?!" 


End file.
